Delightful Children Drabbles
by Storywriter8897
Summary: A collection of short stories that feature the Delightful Children and their leader (OC) Numbuh 0.6. I love the unappreciated quintet so much that I decided to give them the redemption arc and recognition that they deserve. If you feel as cheated as I do about the DCFDTL in regards to what happened after Operation ZERO, then these drabbles are perfect for you.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC. Everything else belongs to their perspective owners.**

***The Delightful Children From Down the Lane are the most underappreciated characters in the entire show. After being Delightfulized by Father, they were forced to harm their previous fellow KND operatives. Then in Operation Z.E.R.O. when they were temporarily turned back into the Sector Z selves, they helped save the Earth before being turned back to their Delightfulized selves where they were then shunted into an escape pod and blasted off into deep space. And even though their last words to Numbuh 1 were 'Tell the Kids Next Door we miss them!', did he? No. The fact that Father is Nigel's uncle and the secret identity of the Delightful Children goes unmentioned for the rest of the series. As if that isn't enough, in Operation I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S., when they were battling Numbuh One on the roller coaster of the lavatory themed rainbow monkey amusement park, he jumped off right before the ride fell into a giant toilet where the DCFDTL supposedly died. No one cared or bothered to un-Delightfulize them before this happened. And that really pisses me off. So I wrote a colelction of drabbles, in one of which they actually get cured like they should have been with a well deserved redemption arc with the help of my OC and Sector Z's leader, Numbuh 0.6, Lauren Styx, named for no other reason than the fact that Styx sounds like six.***

 **Origin of Sector Z**

"Fantastic mission you guys!" Numbuh 0.6 crowed with glee from the captain's chair of their 2 by 4 tech jet.

"All thanks to you, oh, glorious leader." Numbuh 0.5 quipped from the controls.

"Numbuh 0.5 I'm in too good a mood to be bothered by sarcasm. It'll be a while before Sticky Beard shows his ugly face around here again."

"Here here!" Numbuh 0.2 cried, not looking away from the navigation screen.

"To celebrate, I say we make a quick detour to the candy store, see if we can procure some root beer floats." Numbuh 0.6 suggested.

"Root beer floats? Now you're talkin'. You really are in a good mood." Numbuh 0.1 replied, cracking a grin.

"I'll say. Who are you and what have you done with our leader? The real Numbuh 0.6 would be insisting that we get back to the Treehouse immediately and train until dawn before filling out paperwork and organizing our files during the rest of the day." Numbuh 0.3 pointed out from her second in command spot, a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

"If that's what you prefer to do, by all means be my guest. But I'm not touching a single pen until I've downed a root beer float." Numbuh 0.6 replied, stretching hugely. It had been a rather rough mission and in the fight she had been in the heart of the battle, at one point taking on three candy pirates at once. Work this tough easily drained your average ten year old, even if the ten year old was a KND operative.

"Numbuh 0.6, we are approaching our destination. Dulce's Candy Emporium is directly below us. How shall we proceed?" Numbuh 0.2 asked in a mock serious tone.

"Excellent work, Numbuh 0.2. I suggest parking because we're gonna be here a while." Numbuh 0.6 commanded.

The jet quickly touched down on the ground before Numbuh 0.2 initiated the ship's cloaking device to make sure no teenagers or adults got wind that the KND were in the area, even if they weren't on a mission. Adults were always looking to pin something on innocent kids, after all, regardless of whether the kid in question was innocent or guilty. Before exiting the ship, the six operatives loaded themselves down with extra weapons, holstering various blaster rays, slipping nun chucks up their sleeves and umbrella swords down their backs, as well as various gadgets into any spare room their pockets offered.

Once they were all loaded up, Numbuh 0.6 looked each of her teammates in the eyes, her smile widening with each individual her eyes passed over, and said "Time for our second mission of the day, guys. Make it a good one, and I might forget we have paperwork to fill out."

At that, the rest of her team cheered before running out of the ship and storming into the candy shop. They each grabbed a bag and quickly began filling them up with a wide variety of candy from different bins. They grabbed handfuls of every kind of candy imaginable, from bubblegum to chocolate bars, from coconut clusters to lollipops, they filled their bags until they were practically overflowing. Upon having done that, they casually made their way to the back of the door where they entered a password and received admittance into a root beer speakeasy. Given that they were all under the age of thirteen, which therefore meant that their consumption of soda was illegal, they had to drink it in private.

Numbuh 0.6 walked approached the bartender, flipped her hair out of her eyes, and said "A round of root beer floats for me and my team, on me."

"Aw, you don't have to do that, Numbuh 0.6." Numbuh 0.5 told her.

"I know, but I want to treat you guys tonight. Anything you guys want tonight, it's on me, so drink up." Numbuh 0.6 replied before gesturing towards the vast array of sodas, giving her team permission to go nuts.

Upon seeing this, the bartender said "You guys are the best sector this side of the galaxy. You even give Numbuh 11's Sector V a run for their money. And you look like you just got back from a pretty nasty mission so anything you operatives want to drink tonight, it's on me."

"Hey now, you don't have to do that, Numbuh 1920." Numbuh 0.3 told him.

"Yeah. I was supposed to be the hero of the night." Numbuh 0.6 added with a grin.

"I insist. Either you take me up on my offer, or I'll charge you extra for your drinks." Numbuh 1920 said, giving them an ultimatum, as well as a flashy grin.

The six kids all smiled at him before Numbuh 0.6 gratefully said "You've got yourself a deal, Numbuh 1920. We'll take one round of your finest root beer floats, then."

"Coming right up, guys." He replied in a cheery voice.

It wasn't long before all six of them held frosty root beer floats in their hands. Once they were all seated at a table, Numbuh 0.6 raised her glass in the air and cried "To my teammates! The bravest Kids Next Door operatives since Numbuh 0! Braver than all the other agents combined. I don't know where I would be without you five always having my back, and I'm glad I don't have to worry about such things because we're a team and that's never going to change. I couldn't ask for a better one, I wouldn't want to be on another team, and I wouldn't trade any of you for anything in the world. I love you guys. To Sector Z!"

"To Sector Z!" Numbuhs 0.1 through 0.5 cried out, clinking their mugs against Numbuh 0.6's as they did so. After wiping away a few loose tears, the six of them chugged down their root beer floats, eagerly read to take up Numbuh 1920's offer of the all they can drink soda night.

After draining the dregs on her fifth root beer float, Numbuh 0.6 wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, pushed her mug to the side, and said "All right, team. I say we call it a night. The world isn't going to save itself from adult tyranny and we need our sleep."

"Oh, okay, Numbuh 0.6. I guess you're right." Numbuh 0.3 replied with a slight sigh of disappointment.

Numbuh 0.1 drained his mug and added "Yeah, we should probably stop now before Numbuh 1920 throws us out for drinking up all of his stock."

"It's his own fault if we did, promising six starving KND operatives unlimited rounds of soda." Numbuh 0.4 pointed out as the rest of his teammates laughed.

The laughter dying down, the six of them scraped their chairs backwards and left, their candy bags draped over their shoulders. They boarded their ship and Numbuh 0.5 booted it up, the ship quickly taking off into the darkening sky. It wasn't long before the ship landed on the dock of the Sector Z treehouse. The sun had fully set by then and the stars were slowly twinkling their way into existence. The members of Sector Z exited the jet and went their separate ways to their rooms, ready for a full night's sleep.

Alarms wailed throughout the treehouse as an emergency communication call was picked up by Sector Z's satellite. Numbuh 0.6 flew out of her bed and into the main room where the two way television communication device was located. The rest of her team filed in after her. After doing a quick head count, she saw that the other five had walked in, so she answered the call. Numbuh 663, the leader of the Kid's Next Door, appeared before them. "Numbuh 663, sir! What's the emergency?" Numbuh 0.6 asked with a two finger salute.

"Numbuh 0.6, we've received intel that Father is working on a new type of device that transforms Kids Next Door operatives into adult loving, rule following, goodie two shoes."

All the members of Sector Z gapsed in horror. "Father has gone too far this time." Numbuh 0.4 exclaimed, smashing his fist into his palm.

"Yeah! Turning kids into delightful little brats. Blegh!" Numbuh 0.2 added in obvious disgust.

"That's the point. It's probably the worst crime against kid-manity since the founding of the Kids Next Door which is why I'm sending our best sector to take care of the problem. That's where you six come in. I need you to sneak into Father's base and destroy this alleged machine before he gets the chance. Do you think you can handle it?"

Numbuh 0.6 dismissively waved her hand as she replied "My team can handle anything, Father included. Trust me, Numbuh 663, when I say that you are correct in saying that my team is the best. We'll have that machine dismantled in no time."

Numbuh 663 cracked a grin as he replied "I'm glad to hear you say so so confidently, Numbuh 0.6. Make us proud. Over and out." With that, the screen went black.

Numbuh 0.6 turned around so that she facing her teammates, all of whom were looking especially eager for their newest mission. "You heard Numbuh 663, guys. Father is up to his most diabolical plan yet and it's up to us to stop him. If we fail, he may turn every kid on Earth into adult loving dorks, and bring an end to Kids Next Door as we know it. And we can't have that."

"You're darn right we can't. Father's had some pretty crazy schemes in the past but this takes the

cake. The man is crazy with a capital K." Numbuh 0.3 told them fiercely.

"Let's take his machine out already, then, before he gets the chance to use it." Numbuh 0.1 suggested.

"I agree with Numbuh 0.1. We need to destroy that chamber before it can be used against us." Numbuh 0.5 added, adjusting her glasses as she did so.

Numbuh 0.6 pondered the input from her teammates before clearing her throat. "I agree with all of you. Let's suit up and take out that machine immediately. If we go now, we'll finish with enough time to go see the newest

Rainbow Monkey movie."

"We better hurry then. It'd be a real shame if we missed that movie." Numbuh 0.4 sarcastically

quipped with an exaggerated eye roll.

Numbuh 0.6 clapped him on the back as she laughed. "We know deep down you love Rainbow Monkeys so don't try to hide it." This resulted in yet another eye roll. Numbuh 0.6 managed to quit laughing and ordered "All right, Sector Z. Suit up and meet me in the hangar in T minus fifteen minutes." The six of them went their separate ways, running to various parts of the treehouse in order to weapon up. Numbuh 0.6 strapped two blasters to her waist before loading herself down with other various weapons. Once suited up, she sprinted towards the hangar before joining the others outside of a jet. After everyone was on board and in their various positions, Numbuh 0.6 declared "Take up to Father's mansion, Numbuh 0.5, and initiate

our cloaking device. We definitely need the element of surprise on our side." Numbuh 0.5 instantly followed her superior's instructions and in an instant, the ship was invisible to everyone below. It wasn't long before they were on the outskirts of father's mansion.

Sector Z exited their ship and silently ran across the pavement, switching from asphalt to grass after a while. Stealthily they slid in through the main door, careful not to draw attention to themselves or set off any boobytraps. "Be careful guys." Numbuh 0.6 murmured softly as they approached the door that led to Father's lab. If the machine was anywhere in the mansion, the lab was the best bet. Numbuhs 0.5 and 0.4 aimed their blasters down the hallway, guarding the backs of their teammates as they picked the lock.

Once the lock was picked, Numbuh 0.6 slid the gadget back into her pocket before quickly snatching her blaster up in her hands. Checking to make sure all of her teammates had their guns at the ready, Numbuh 0.6 nodded towards the door before raising her leg and kicking it open. The door flew back with a loud bang and Sector Z quickly diving into the room. After a second of scanning the room, Numbuh 0.6's eyes landed on a large chamber. Deciding it was the machine that turned kids into mind washed zombies, she smiled. Father was nowhere in sight so it was the perfect time to destroy it. And what better way was there to destroy an adult made machine than six Kids Next Door operatives?

"Is that...?" Numbuh 0.5 trailed off, denoting to the contraption.

Numbuh 0.6 nodded. "I think so. Father's nowhere in sight so let's take it out while we have the chance."

"And how do we do that, exactly?" inquired Numbuh 0.1, eagerly fingering his nunchucks.

"I say we beat into eleventy billion pieces!" Numbuh 0.3 suggested, she too was clutching her weapon excitedly, ready to do some serious damage to anything that was a threat to kid kind.

"Best plan I've heard all day. Let's go for it!" Numbuh 0.2 encouraged.

Numbuh 0.5 unconsciously spun her own weapons between her fingers and added "It's been a slow week. I could use some action!"

"Yeah, c'mon, Numbuh 0.6!" Numbuh 0.4 pleaded, his fists clenching in his boxing gloves.

They all looked towards their leader. Numbuh 0.6 pulled a bowstuff out from her belt and ran a finger along it before smirking. This was going to be fun. Smirk widening, she commanded "Tear it down!" Twirling the bo staff over her head, she jumped into the air, spun around, and slammed the staff onto the machine, creating a serious dent in the surface. She was about to give it another hard whack when a voice shouted "Stop!" Whipping her head around, Numbuh 0.6's face fell.

Standing in the doorway was Father, his black form encompassed by fire. "Stop right now!"

"Or what?" Numbuh 0.6 asked him, her hands on her hips.

"Don't test me, little girl. Trust me when I say you don't want to fight me."

The members of Sector V exchanged a quick glance before Numbuh 0.4 said "Guys, I think we better listen to him. After all, we're clearly at the disadvantage here." His voice dripping with sarcasm as he finished, Numbuh 0.4 took another crack at the machine, hitting it hard with a blaster.

At that, Father sent a fireball at him. The operatives jumped out of the way just in the time, the fireball sizzling harmlessly over their heads. Father approached, breathing heavily. After a moment he smiled and clasped his hands together, his breathing returned to normal. "Hello, children. I take it you're here in regards to my latest invention: the Delightfulization chamber?"

"Is that what you're calling it, you sicko? Well, we've got news for you. You're not going the get the chance to use it." Numbuh 0.3 remarked confidently.

"Yeah! We'll destroy that machine before a single kid falls victim to it." added Numbuh 0.5.

Father laughed then, a deep, maniacal laugh. Sector Z exchanged confused glances before 0.1 asked loudly "What's so funny, creepy?"

Father stopped laughing suddenly, and replied "You children thinking you have the upper hand is what's so funny, especially when you've so easily fallen for my trap."

"Hold up just a sec-" Numbuh 0.6 began, raising her weapon.

Father swept his hand through the air, effectively cutting off the rest of her declaration, and throwing the six kids into his contraption. Before any of them could react, the door slammed shut. The six of them quickly began banging on the door, screaming to be let out. Father only laughed as he began turning the machine on.

As it was booting up, Numbuh 0.6 quickly turned to her teammates and cried "We need a way out now! This machine is going to start literally any second now. Ideas?"

"The wiring! Maybe we can rewire it!" Numbuh 0.2 shouted, pointing at an access panel that was jutting out of the wall.

Numbuh 0.5 pushed her way to the front, ripping the screen away from the wires. She skimmed the wiring before demanding "I need something to cut these wires with now!" Numbuh 0.1 quickly procured a pair of clippers which Numbuh 0.5 made quick work of. After a suspenseful second of waiting, the inside of the chamber went dark, the hum of energy coursing through it went quiet, and the door fell open with a dull clang.

The six operatives flooded out and turned their weapons onto Father who was staring at them in pure, undiluted fury. "You kids still look a little under cooked. Allow me to finish heating you up!" And with that, he held out his arm as a wave of fire poured from his fingertips, making a beeline for Numbuh 0.5.

Numbuh 0.6 tackled her to the ground and out of harm's way, causing the fireball to fly over their heads, singeing a painting hanging from the wall instead. Father's eyes became dangerously narrow slits as he turned toward the leader of the group. She pulled her weapon out from around her back and yelled at her teammates "Run while he's distracted! I'll hold him off and meet up with you guys at the treehouse later!"

"No way! We're not leaving you behind, especially not here!" Numbuh 0.3 argued, grabbing Numbuh 0.6's arm.

Numbuh 0.6 stared at the fingers wrapped around her wrist before yanking her arm free. "Don't undermine my authority, Ashley. Get out of here with the others now! There's no time to argue with me!"

"We're not going anywhere!" Numbuh 0.2 passionately insisted.

"Yeah! We belong here, fighting by your side!" added Numbuh 0.1, coming at Father from behind only to be knocked in the head by a fireball.

"Numbuh 0.1!" Numbuh 0.6 cried out in mourning. Her eyes hardened as she dealt Father a series of blows. "You guys go now!" she maintained her consistency as she continued, "I won't take no for an answer. I've almost got him and I won't risk any more of you getting hurt. Get out while you still can. I promise to meet up with you shortly."

Numbuh 0.3 held her gaze for a moment, a look of understanding forming between the two girls. Without hesitation she broke the gaze and commanded "You heard Numbuh 0.6. Let's clear out team!" By this point the

rest of the team was too injured to fight back and ran out of the house, boarding their ship so that it was ready to take to the skies as soon as Numbuh 0.6 finished off Father.

Once her teammates were gone, Numbuh 0.6 smiled slightly at Father before letting out a feral growl. He had nearly converted her and her friends from adult hating Kids Next Door operatives to adult loving goodie two shoes. Now was time for payback. With a furious scream, Numbuh 0.6 swung her staff at Father, putting all of her strength behind the attack. Father ducked out of the way, flipped to the other side of Numbuh 0.6, and went to attack her from behind. In reply, she raised her ice cream blaster and shot three rounds at Father, taking out his fireball and hitting him in the face all at the same time. Father screamed in indignant rage, his flames increasing in size by eleventy fold. He slowly made his way towards her, Numbuh 0.6's ice cream balls proving ineffective against him, melting several feet away from Father due to the sheer heat of his flames. Tossing her useless ray gun aside, she tried her gumball blaster. However, the gum simply melted, leaving hot, sticky residue all over Father's carpet. This resulted only in his increased anger. Numbuh 0.6 soon found herself without any blasters as they had all been used up or proved ineffective against Father. All she had left was her bo staff. Given that it was a glorified stick, sticks were made of wood, and she was up against Father whose power was pyrokinesis, she was at a complete disadvantage. Still, she gripped her bo staff, ready for Father's attack. However, he did something unexpected: he laughed.

Father stopped his approach, he was laughing so hard. After a moment he regained his composure and spared a glance at Numbuh 0.6. She still looked ferocious and ready to attack him, her bo staff at the ready. Father grinned and asked "Do you really think you still have a chance? Your teammates have left so it's just you against me, you're out of weapons except for that stick of yours, and I have you backed into a corner. What could you possibly do to escape at this point?"

Numbuh 0.6 smirked then. "You really underestimate us, don't you, Father? Just because we're kids you think us incapable of doing virtually anything. Well, you're wrong. We're capable of so

much, beating you included. Even if it's just me against you, the fact that you underestimate me puts you at a disadvantage. So that's why I know I'm going to escape under your hot headed nose." And with that, Numbuh 0.6 sprung forward, her bo staff held high over her head. She brought it down with all of her might, aiming right at Father's head. When it was an inch above his head, Father's arm shot out and gripped the bo staff, wrenching it out of Numbuh 0.6's hands. For the first time that morning, she was truly afraid and her face read as much. Her eyes followed the bo staff's flight trajectory as Father flung it to the opposite side of the room. His let out a mirthless chuckle as he turned back to face Numbuh 0.6. Her fearful gaze quickly melted away, replaced by the stony look of a true KND warrior. If it came to a fist fight, she wouldn't last long, however she was smaller and quicker than Father so if she could get on his other side she could make it to the door and get on her ship before he could catch her. Steeling herself, Numbuh 0.6 inhaled deeply before diving past Father, springing forward, and running towards the door. She nearly made it out of the lab when the door suddenly slammed shut. Numbuh 0.6 was running so fast and the door closed so unexpectedly that she had no time to stop. Shutting her eyes, she braced herself before colliding with the door. Upon contact with the door, Numbuh 0.6 went crashing into the ground, everything fading to black.

Numbuh 0.6's eyes slowly fluttered open, her eyes rapidly blinking against the bright light. With a groan she sat up, wishing her massive headache would disappear. She must have left the lights on in her room before falling asleep. Numbuh 0.6 went to stand up, ready to turn the lights off and go back to sleep. However as she tried to move, she was pulled back by restraints. Confused, she took in her surroundings and realized she wasn't in her room. Her face falling, Numbuh 0.6 recalled the events from earlier. She wasn't in her treehouse. She was in Father's mansion, probably locked inside one of his cells. Looking at what was wrapped around her arm, Numbuh 0.6 felt nauseous. It wasn't a restraint, it was a syringe. Her eyes followed the IV tube to see what it was hooked up to. The fluid was a clear liquid and there was no label anywhere to be found telling her what the pouch contained. Sick to her stomach at the thought of Father injecting her with some mysterious liquid, Numbuh 0.6 attempted to clear her head. She couldn't very well escape if she wasn't completely focused on doing so. Slowly, she grabbed the needle and slowly began pulling it out of her wrist. Suddenly the door banged open. Numbuh 0.6 quickly dropped her hands in her lap.

Father strolled in, head held high, chin in the air. "Ah, Numbuh 0.6, Lauren, may I call you Lauren? Oh, who am I kidding? I can call you whatever I want. I'm glad to see you're awake." He caught her spare a glance towards the IV. His eyes widened with delight before explaining "I see you've noticed my little experiment."

"I am not an experiment, Father. I am a Kids Next Door operative and if you don't let me leave now I can promise you you will regret it. Especially when my team comes looking for me." she confidently snapped at him, tired of how he was talking to her as though she were no more than a mere baby.

"You mean the team you gave direct orders to to stay away from here until you came to them? Would they really disobey their beloved and trusted leader so quickly?" Father asked in a weak attempt to get a rise out of her.

"You wish, Father. But if you're not going to let me go, the least you could do is tell me what the crud you're injecting me with." Numbuh 0.6 told him with a sigh of defeat.

Father leaned against the counter, delicately fingering the IV pouch, contemplating the question she had asked him. Finally he released the bag and replied "Well, since you little brats destroyed my Delightfulization chamber, I had to resort to plan B on turning children from disobedient to delightful. So I thought what better way to turn kids into adults then take adult DNA and insert it into children? And what better adult to take DNA from than myself, the best adult on this gosh darn planet?"

Comprehension dawned on Numbuh 0.6's face as her eyes flashed from the IV pouch to the needle pumping her body full with it. "Y-your DNA is inside me?" she shrieked, pulling at the cord in desperation.

Father cackled at the terrified child, gleaming immense pleasure from her patent terror. "You can

relax. It doesn't seem to have worked anyway. I've been injecting you with my DNA for days now and there's been no change. But that's obvious because if there had been some form of change you would currently be a lot more pleasant."

Numbuh 0.6 scowled and dangerously hissed "Nothing you ever do to me will make me like you. The only way I'll ever become an adult at the hands of you is if you hold me prisoner here until I am one. But trust me when I say this: I will escape long before that happens."

Father smirked at her before taunting "We'll see how cocky and disrespectful you are after another round of injections. I'll leave you alone to your transformation."

Numbuh 0.6 huffed in reply, otherwise remaining silent. Choosing to ignore this, Father walked out of the cell, locking the door behind him. As soon as Father was gone, Numbuh 0.6 yanked the needle out of her wrist. She let out a gasp of pain before sucking in a breath, clamping her mouth shut with her hand. But Father didn't return, apparently oblivious to her escape plan.

Once she was free from the IV, Numbuh 0.6 took stock of herself. She was still in her own clothes, her bo staff still secured in her belt. But that was the only piece of 2 by 4 technology she had on her because the rest had been used up in her previous battle with Father days ago. "I can't complain. I have one weapon at least." she whispered under her breath. She then surveyed the room. Apart from the metal framed bed and the IV drip, there was a small lab table with various syringes and slender, metal tools. There was also a stack of files. Numbuh 0.6 flipped through the files and saw they were on her and the other members of Sector Z. Frowning, she tucked the files inside her jacket. Sure, Father could have backup files or means to get another copy, but it felt good all the same taking the ones he had, knowing it would irritate him more than anything else.

Giving the room one more once over, Numbuh 0.6 decided it was time to bust herself out. The cell had no windows and only one door, a door that was currently locked. Selecting one of the sharper metal instruments on the table, Numbuh 0.6 quickly jammed it into the door jam, wiggling it around before the lock finally broke. The door slid open by a few inches with an eerie creak. With a cringe, Numbuh 0.6 waited for Father to come running but he must have been too far gone to hear her escape. Giddy with pride, she pocketed the metal instrument incase any other locks required picking, gripped her bo staff with both hands, and sprinted out of the cell. She kept to the shadows, crouching as low as possible while maintaining a consistent speed. Fortunately, she made it to the main entrance without running into Father. She pushed her way outside only to see something that made her heart sink.

Sector Z's main jet was parked out front. Heart pounding, she ran inside and called out for her teammates. "Numbuh 0.3! Numbuh 0.1! Numbuh 0.2! 0.5! 0.4! Are you guys in here?" She practically turned the ship upside down looking for them but the search was fruitless. None of her teammates were on board. That meant they were all inside Father's mansion.

As much as she didn't want to go back inside, nothing was more important than her teammates safety. Even if she got hurt or worse along the way, it didn't matter as long as they were alright. Gritting her teeth, and even more thoroughly infuriated with Father, she pushed past the entrance, making her way back inside. Numbuh 0.6 crept through the entrance of the mansion before making her way down the hallway, keeping to the shadows as she did so.

Checking each doorway for sounds of her friends, Numbuh 0.6 paused outside of Father's laboratory. Pressing her ear against the door, she recognized Father's voice as he ranted away to who she presumably guessed was her teammates. She heard Father say "...and while your precious leader is subject to my experimentation, you five will help me test out my new Delightfulization chamber." Numbuh 0.6's face pale as she heard him say that.

She broke down the door at the sound of a struggle. Running her fastest, she arrived just in time to see them thrown inside and Father turn the contraption on. Numbuh 0.6 paused, paralyzed with fear, managing to scream at the same time it blew up. She felt so consumed by rage that she exploded in the literal sense, her body completely engulfed in flames. In the next second, Numbuh 0.6 was on top of Father beating the ever loving snot out of him. For all she knew, her friends were all dead. After all, the Delightfulization chamber had blown up with them all packed inside. So she acted without thinking, laying fiery blow after blow onto him. Numbuh 0.6 had tears streaming out of her eyes and was so entirely engulfed with rage that she didn't notice that she and Father had been joined by five individuals.

When the perfectly in unison "Hello, Father," filled the room, her heart stopped and she froze, giving Father enough time to throw her off of him. Numbuh 0.6 crashed into the wall, hard, and collapsed onto the floor. Shaking her head, she jumped up, a ball of fire at her disposal, ready to throw it right at Father. But when she got a sight of who Father was standing in front of, she doused her fire.

Numbuh 0.6 was staring at her teammates, but they had been Delightfulized. Their KND battle wear was replaced by preppy uniforms. Numbuhs 0.3 and 0.5 were wearing light blue and white shirts and matching skirts.

Numbuhs 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 were all wearing dark blue suits. Their hair was suddenly well kept and in bland up-dos, their weapons and gadgets dissipated into thin air. If Numbuh 0.6 hadn't personally seen her teammates turn into these carbon copied zombies herself, she wouldn't have believed they were her teammates given that they looked nothing alike.

The five of them moved forward as one, stopping just a few feet away from where Numbuh 0.6 currently stood. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Number 0.6. Someone's been a very naughty girl. You need to chill out!" They shouted in perfect harmony just as Father began walking towards her.

Things were looking bleak and Numbuh 0.6 only had a few seconds at best before she'd be captured. She had no weapons other than her bo staff and she wasn't about to attack her teammates with a weapon. Rummaging through her pockets, she pulled out a narrow, cylindrical device. Her eyes widened at the find. It was the perfect solution to her current situation. A few months ago, Sector Z began developing a device that would erase the minds of teenagers and adults alike so that if caught, KND operatives would simply need to flash it at the capturer to erase their minds for the past few hours, giving the operative a chance to escape. As Father and her delightfulized teammates approached, Numbuh 0.6 held the device up and clicked the button. White light filled the room and they all went to shield their eyes.

She took their moment of distraction to escape the mansion. Heart pounding as adrenaline coursed through her body, Numbuh 0.6 flew into the ship. Tears streaming down her eyes, she blinding flew off to the Kids Next Door Moonbase. It wasn't long before she arrived.

"Numbuh 0.6! You better have a good reason for practically crashing into our Moonbase and storming in here like you own the place!" Numbuh 274 exclaimed, stepping in line behind her.

"Listen, Numbuh 274, I don't have time for this. I need to see Numbuh 663 immediately." Numbuh 0.6 explained, hating that of all the operatives she could have run into, it was the most stuck up one.

"Numbuh 663! The leader of our entire operation has much more important things to do with

his valuable time than putting up with you." He shouted at her.

Numbuh 0.6 snapped at that. She turned around and slapped Numbuh 274 across the face as

hard as possible, leaving a red mark on his cheek.

He held his face in his hands, a few tears leaking out of his eyes, and exclaimed "Ow!"

"There's more where that came from if you don't shut up!" Numbuh 0.6 began, yelling hotly at him. "My teammates lives are in serious danger, not that it's any of your business, and I need to speak with Numbuh 663 before it's too late. So I suggest you get out of my way, Chad, before I slap you so hard I send you into orbit!"

Chad opened his mouth to respond before thinking better of it and shutting his lips. Numbuh 0.6 grumbled under her breath as she continued her run to Numbuh 663's main room. She burst through his door to see him sitting at his desk, filling out paperwork. Upon seeing her, he pushed the paperwork aside and asked "Numbuh 0.6! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Numbuh 0.6 ran up to him and slammed her hands on the desk. "It's Sector Z! I... I think I'm the only member left."

Numbuh 663 looked at her, then, his eyes widening in confusion. Gesturing at the chair in front of him, he said "Numbuh 0.6, I think an explanation is in order here. Please, sit down and tell me exactly what happened."

Numbuh 0.6 obliged, sitting on the very edge of the chair before recounting the events of the past few days, focusing especially hard on the events of the morning. When she finished, Numbuh 663 frowned deeply. But before he could reply, Numbuh 0.6 added "Due to my failure as the leader of Sector Z and the Delightfulization of my teammates, which I take full responsibility for, I formally resign from the Kids Next Door. However, I request not to be decommissioned so that I may keep an eye on my delightfulized teammates to make sure Father doesn't hurt them, that they don't hurt others, and that I may work on a cure for it."

Numbuh 663 pondered what Numbuh 0.6 had just told him before taking a deep breath and saying "I can't have you resign from the Kids Next Door, you'd never be able to rejoin if you changed your mind. And don't say you wouldn't because the second you get your teammates back to normal you'd want to. However, it would be best if you remained under the radar, so for the time being I could fix our systems so that the KND would be unable to officially recognize you as an operative, therefore our funds, weapons, technology, and resources will be unavailable to aid you on this mission. Sector Z will be deemed lost, the reason will be left shrouded in mystery. After all it would cause too much of a panic if the other sectors knew what Father was capable of. I'm relying on you to keep me updated on any plans Father might have to use this Delightfulization device on a global scale if it comes to that, or any progress you make on fixing your former teammates. Apart from that, you are to have zero contact with me or any other Kids Next Door operative. Given that the rest of your team is 'lost', it would be best if you followed suit."

Her eyes holding his pointed gaze, Numbuh 0.6 nodded slightly. "I understand. I'll stay out of the picture. Thank you for this, Numbuh 663. I promise I'll keep a watchful eye on Father and let you know when I come up with a plan to turn my teammates back into regular KND operatives. I'll work on it until I die so that no team ever has to go through the same experience as mine did, or the same guilt I now have as a result. I just hope I can repay my teammates for what I've caused them by finding a way to turn them back to normal, even if I repay them by just a fraction. That would be enough."

Numbuh 663 placed a hand on top of Numbuh 0.6's and sincerely told her "You have nothing to feel guilty about. This was Father's doing, not yours. Besides, you did us all a favor by coming here instead of staying back there. Had you stayed there you would most likely been caught and Delightfulized yourself and no one would be able to report on Father or tell the story of your Sector. But rest assured Sector Z won't have been Delightfulized in vain. While you work on a cure for your former teammates, I'll have our top scientists work on an anti delightfulization machine just incase."

"Thank you, Danny. I promise I won't let you down." Numbuh 0.6 told him confidently. Her head held high, she stood up. The two shook hands for a brief second. "It was an honor serving the Kids Next Door." she told him as their hands fell apart.

"Likewise, Numbuh 0.6. You truly are the best agent this operation has seen since Numbuh 0 himself. Your leadership over Sector Z has brought forth many a victory for our operation and the downfall of adult tyranny across the globe. I fear for kid kind now that Sector Z is out of commission." Numbuh 663 told her honestly.

Numbuh 0.6 smiled slightly before suggesting "You can always issue a new Sector Z."

This was met with a sad smile. "I think it would only be right if Sector Z faded into legend along with its former members. That is the best way to honor what happened to your teammates. What happened to them, I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. For a KND operative to slavishly obey adults..." Numbuh 663 trailed off in patent disgust. Upon seeing the look of shame that flashed on Numbuh 0.6's face, his face fell slightly before smiling and saying "But I trust you'll soon find a way to right their unfortunate situation, Numbuh 0.6."

Her face filled with determination as she replied "There's no doubt that I will right the wrong I was powerless to prevent. Even if it's the last thing I do." With that, she did a one eighty and walked out of Numbuh 663's office. She leapt into her ship before zipping off to Sector Z's treehouse, ready to do whatever it took to undelightfulize her teammates.


	2. Chapter 2

**Operation Z.E.R.O.**

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my OC.

Panting, Lauren ran around her house, stuffing various weapons and gadgets into a duffel bag. She had seen reports across the news all day of how the evil Grandfather had been turning everyone into senior citizombies. She figured it was only a matter of time before he showed his ugly face in her territory and when he did, she wanted to be prepared. Skidding to a halt in her room, Lauren stripped off her skirt and blouse, pulling on a pair of cargo pants, a black long sleeve shirt, and a pair of combat boots. Checking the news, she saw that the last spot Grandfather was reported attacking was within just a few miles of her house. With a bitter frown, she shut her computer down, stashed it away, and pushed her way into her cluttered closet. She sighed with relief as she pulled a hoverboard. Turning it on, she quickly planted her feet on the pads and took off for the Delightful Children's house.

The doorbell of the Delightful Children's house was ringing incessantly. With an annoyed groan, Father answered the door. At the sight of Monty and Numbuh 1, he sarcastically quipped "Oh, happy day. It's you! Well, come on in, I guess."

As they walked in, Numbuh 1 grabbed his dad's sleeve and whispered "Are you crazy, Dad?! I know you've been away and all, but that's our worst enemy."

Monty placed a hand on Numbuh 1's shoulder and winked. "Try listening to what's going on, Numbuh 1. You might just learn something."

They continued to walk into the house, entering the living room. Father plunked into his plush armchair, readjusted his yellow bathrobe, and continued eating the ice cream he had been working on before being so rudely interrupted. "Excuse the mess, like I give a do-do anymore!" He sighed into his ice cream.

Monty walked over to him, crossed his arms, and snapped "Why don't you take off that ridiculous outfit?"

Referring to his pink and yellow robe, Father asked "What? This? It matches my eyes."

Monty shook his head. "Not that, this!" He rips off Father's shadow suit as Numbuh 1's jaw drops in shocked. "Say "uncle", son."

"But, we haven't lost yet." Numbuh 1 spluttered in confusion.

"And you're supposed to be the smart one. I'm your dad's brother, Benedict. Your uncle!" Father explained sardonically.

At that, Numbuh 1 is completely shocked. He stutters "M-M-M-M-My uncle?!"

In a mocking voice Father replies "Meh, meh, meh! Yeah! You know, the one who wouldn't join him after he found the Book of KND. Blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda."

Numbuh 1 is still shocked. "But if you're my uncle, that makes Grandfather my grandfather!"

Father crossed his arms before bitterly saying "What are you? President of the Obvious Club or something?"

"That's enough! All right, Ben, you know what it's like when Pappy controls the world. This is a second chance, your chance to do the right thing. Now, I've got a plan, but I need the help of you and your so-called children." Monty snapped.

From behind him, the Delightful Children were sneaking up on him with a ray gun. "How about a helping of this!?" They fire at Monty, but Numbuh 1 knocks him out of the way.

The Delightful Children laugh as they are about to fire again, but Father takes the ray gun away from them. "NO! We HAVE to help them!" He shouts.

The Delightful Children look disappointed. Pointing at Numbuh 1, they cry "But, Father! That's our arch-enemy, Nigel Uno!"

Angrily, Father retorts "Silence! It's my fault for reawakening Grandfather. Fine, he's evil, which I admire, but he's also a jerk! I thought he'd at least share control of the world with me, but no-o-o-o! If he succeeds, I'll be nothing! Which means you'll be nothing! Now I think you like being feared by your peers, right?"

Nodding dejectedly, the Delightful Children reply "Yes, Father."

Father nods, saying "Good, then we help Uncle Monty."

"Yes, Father." The Delightful Children sigh. Suddenly they yank the ray gun back and push Father out of the way. "Right after we blast these KNDoofuses!" They aim at Numbuh 1 when they see Monty with the Recommissioning Module. "Huh?" They ask, confused.

Monty, using the Recommissioning Module on them, shouted "Blast this!"

The Delightful Children get blasted, rise into the air, and a puff of smoke appears as the Delightful Children are revealed to be the missing members of Sector Z.

Numbuh 0.3 walks forward and says with a bow "The members of Sector Z, thank you."

At that moment, the double door entrance to the living room is suddenly blown open by Lauren as she flies inside. She swerves to a stop and jumps off the hoverboard before tucking it under her arm. "Father! I need to see the Delightful Children..." Lauren stuttered to a stop at the sight of her former teammates, fully unDelightfulized. She drops the hoverboard and the duffle bag slides from her shoulder in shock before she rushes over to them. The six children are quickly hugging each other, tears streaming down their faces as they are truly reunited for the first time in several years. "I've missed you lot so incredibly much!" Lauren cries, smiling at all of them.

"We've missed you, too." Numbuh 0.5 assures her.

Everyone is staring in shock. Numbuh 1 is freaking out. "The missing members of Sector Z! The Delightful Children From Down The Lane are the missing Kids Next Door members of Sector Z!" He pulls on Monty's pants, still freaking out. "Dad! The Delightful Children From Down The Lane are the missing Kids Next Door members of Sector Z!"

Father, sneering, hisses "How did you know?"

Monty chuckles before replying "Come on, Ben, five kids with that kind of tactical genius and strategy? Had to be ex-Kids Next Door that you Delightfulized until something went terribly wrong."

Father laughs maniacally before saying "You mean something went terribly right! My first Delightfulization Chamber blew a fuse, increasing its power eleventy-billion fold! I lost the machine, but gained five perfect delightful children!"

Numbuh 0.4 looked at his hands before saying "But we thought the effects were permanent!"

Monty sadly replies "They are. I have no idea how long this transformation would last. You could

revert back at any time. I'm sorry..." After a moment of silence, Monty asks "And I was wondering what had happened to the sixth member. Numbuh 0.6, leader of Sector V, I presume?"

Monty asked, looking at Lauren. "Not anymore. I won't accept the title of leader until I figure out how to unDelightfulize the rest of my team permanently. For now, I'm just Lauren."

Numbuh 0.3 frowned at her before giving Lauren a salute and saying "It's not your fault we were captured, Numbuh 0.6. You did everything you could to help us but when Father wants you locked out, well, I'm surprised you were able to get to us at all."

Lauren opened her mouth to reply when Numbuh 0.1 breaks the mood by saying "So, let's use the time we have before we change back! I want to do something good before I have to wear those dorky outfits again!"

Numbuh 0.2 nods in agreement and asks "What's the plan?"

Monty sullenly said "Grandfather's coming here."

Numbuh 1 looked up at his dad in confusion. "How do you know?"

Monty held up the Book of KND before explaining "He wants the Book of KND."

Numbuh 0.1 gestured with his arms as he exclaimed "So, hide it again! That worked last time!"

Monty shook his head. "That's because he didn't know it existed. But now he won't quit until he's sure he's eliminated the book."

"But there's no way on Earth we can stop him." Numbuh 1 dejectedly put in.

"You're right, not on Earth." Monty replied, pointing up at the moon.

Numbuh 1, accompanied by all six members of Sector Z, took off as fast as possible towards the KND Moonbase. Since Numbuh 1's treehouse was compromised, they settled for the long lost Sector Z ship that Lauren had since recovered and stashed at her house, along with her team's old weapons. Numbuh 0.1 had been regifted his carrot nunchucks, Numbuh 0.2 his eraser tipped spear, Numbuh 0.3 her umbrella sword, Numbuh 0.4 his super charged boxing gloves, and Numbuh 0.5 her prongs and spatula. Lauren smiled as she unconsciously twirled her own weapon, a bo staff, incredibly excited at having her team back together again, even if it was temporary. It didn't matter because it wouldn't be long before she worked out a cure for them, even if it was the last thing she did.

"What I don't understand is this," Numbuh 1 began, "If you were all captured, then why did Father only Delightfulize Numbuhs 0.1 through 0.5?"

The members of Sector Z all exchanged glances before Lauren cleared her throat and replied "The Delightful Children you fight today are a result of Father's second attempt at Delightfulizing us. In the first attempt, we were all shoved inside his chamber but it was weak and we were able to rewire it from the inside so nothing would happen to us. When the timer dinged and Father went to check on us, I attempted to hold him off so that at least the others could escape. The fight didn't last long, however, before I was knocked unconscious. When I awoke days later, I discovered Father had been experimenting on me. He figured if the Delightfulization chamber wouldn't work, then maybe kids could be turned into adults by being injected with adult DNA. So he injected me with his own genetic material. However, I remained a kid no matter how much DNA he injected into my system. Before Father could let me escape, my teammates had returned in the hopes of freeing me. They were quickly captured and thrown inside of Father's new prototype for the Delightfulization chamber. This one was made out of titanium carbide with no access to the control panel from the inside. By this time I had escaped from the cell Father had been holding me in and was alerted to the sound of a struggle. I ran my fastest and arrived just in time to see them thrown inside and Father turn the contraption on. I screamed at the same time it blew up."

Lauren had to stop for a moment, clenching her fists so hard her bo staff was creaking. Her teammates all stared at her warily. Numbuh 0.2 slid his hand into hers, soothingly running his thumb over her knuckles, knuckles that had turned white from clenching the bo staff so tightly.

After a moment, she regained her composure and continued, "That's when it happened. I felt so consumed by rage that I exploded in the literal sense. I was completely engulfed in flames. In the next second, I was on top of Father laying blow after blow into him. For all that I knew, my friends were all dead. After all, the Delightfulization chamber had blown up with them all packed inside. So I acted without thinking, laying fiery blow after blow onto him. I had tears streaming out of my eyes and was so entirely engulfed with rage that I didn't notice that Father and I had been joined by five individuals. When the perfectly in unison 'Hello, Father,' filled the room, my heart stopped and I froze, giving Father enough time to throw me off of him. I crashed into the wall hard, and collapsed onto the floor. Shaking my head, I jumped up, a ball of fire at my disposal, ready to throw it right at Father. But when I got a sight of who Father was standing in front of, my fire was doused. I was staring at my teammates, but they had been Delightfulized. 'Well, well, well, if it isn't Number 0.6. Someone's been a very naughty girl. You need to chill out!' They shouted at me in perfect harmony just as Father began walking towards me. Things were looking bleak and I only had a few seconds before I'd be captured. A few months before the event with Father, Sector Z had been developing a device that would erase the minds of teenagers and adults alike so that if caught, KND operatives would simply need to flash it at the capturer to erase their minds for the past few hours, giving the operative a chance to escape. I happened to have a prototype with me on that night. As Father approached, I held it up and clicked the button. White light filled the room and they all went to shield their eyes. I took their moment of distraction to escape the mansion."

Lauren stopped for a moment, turning her face away to hide her look of utter most shame at leaving her teammates behind. Taking a deep breath, Lauren cleared her throat before continuing her story. "I quickly made my way to the Moonbase to tell the KND leader, the predecessor of Numbuh 362, and told him what happened and that I wished to resign from the KND for my failure as a leader. I mean, I was responsible for the capture and Delightfulization of my entire team. He told me I wasn't allowed to resign, I was too valuable and I would miss the job too much in too short a time span, so after much deliberation, he decided telling the other KND members would create too much panic so he ordered everyone who knew to be decommissioned. Everyone that is, except me. I told him that I caused this mess and that I would fix it. So I resigned without technically resigning from the Kids Next Door to keep an eye on the Delightful Children to prevent them from causing trouble in the name of adult tyranny, as well as preventing Father from hurting them, all the while working on a way to reverse what Father had done to them. And I'll keep working on a way to reverse it, I'll work on it until the day I die."

They arrived at the Moonbase, which was overrun by senior citizombies. With a smirk, Lauren said "Don't worry, Numbuh 1. My team and I are more than capable of taking care of this pathetic display."

"You can say that again!" Numbuh 0.3 said, wrapping an arm around Lauren's shoulders.

"Sector Z is back, baby, and we are not going to get our butts handed to us by a bunch of senior citizens. Even if they are zombies." Numbuh 0.4 added, punching his boxing gloves against each other.

"Even though this transformation isn't permanent and we could change back any second, it's still plenty of time to win this fight." Numbuh 0.5 put in.

"Yeah! We're gonna do the best we can with the time we have." Numbuh 0.1 fervently exclaimed.

"No matter what happens out there, even if one of us gets turned, don't anybody stop. We keep going until the world is saved from Grandfather!" And with that pep talk from Numbuh 0.2, everyone stacked their hands on top of each other, cheered, and ran off, Numbuh 1 going one way, everyone else the other.

Lauren surveyed the scene. She and Numbuh 0.3, her second in command, were waiting behind a pillar, Numbuhs 0.5 and 0.4 to their left, Numbuhs 0.1 and 0.2 to their right. They all held their weapons at the ready, eager to engage in a fight after years of suffering under Father's Delightfulization. Lauren shook her head. Now was not the time to be thinking of such things. Rather, she needed to focus on distracting the senior citizombies to give Numbuh 1 enough time to end this mess. Then she could go back to finding a cure for her friends, a cure they so desperately deserved. Gritting her teeth, she readjusted her grip on her bo staff before shouting "Kids Next Door, battle stations!"

With that, she and the rest of Sector V were off, war cries piercing the air and weapons whipping into action. Looking around, Lauren laughed. She couldn't help it. It just felt so good to be back in the field, a member of the Kids Next Door again, battling with her team.

The euphoria wasn't just felt by her, either. Nearby, Numbuh 0.3 was smiling manically as she whacked a villain off his feet with her umbrella as Numbuh 0.5 poked him in the butt with her prongs, eliciting a scream from him. Numbuh 0.1 was thoroughly enjoying whacking Father's friends across the face with his carrot nunchucks, almost as much fun as Numbuh 0.4 was having pulverising them with his supercharged boxing gloves. And whoever they missed, Numbah 0.2 was waiting to knock them across the head with his spear.

It was glorious.

After a few mere minutes, all the senior citizombies were lying on the floor, unconscious. Sector Z gathered together and had a group high five.

"That was amazing! I haven't felt this alive in years!" Numbuh 0.1 shouted gleefully, fist pumping Numbuh 0.2. Numbuhs 0.3 and 0.5 hugged Lauren who was quick to hug them back. The boys

joined soon after.

However, Lauren eventually pulled away from them, saying "I love you guys, and I know our time together is short, but we still have a mission to complete. Let's go help Numbuh 1!"

They all high fived before letting out war cries and running the way they say Numbuh 1 run earlier.

Numbuh 1 was not faring well against his senior citizombied teammates. He just managed to throw Numbuh 2 off, greatly draining him of his strength, but the others were still coming at him. "It's no good. I can't fight all of you alone. I've always had a team to back me up."

"Well, it's a good thing we're on your team now, huh?" Numbuh 0.1 asked with a knowing smile.

All of Sector Z let out battle cries and began attacking the members of Sector V that had been

turned into senior citizombies.

"This is going to be delightful." Numbuh 0.3 said softly, pun intended.

Sector Z quickly made short work of Sector V. Seeing that his teammates were being taken care of, Numbuh 1 turned back to the computer and began entering coordinates. "Gotta get this show on the road."

"Targeting initialized. Input five thousand digit coordinate code now." The computer instructed.

The moon base quickly begins realigning itself to meet Numbuh One's input. "Just a little more." Numbuh 1 urged.

Numbuh Two sneaks up behind Numbuh One and is about to attack him when Numbuh 0.2 throws an eraser-tipped spear at him, knocking him to the ground. Numbuh 0.2 let out a laugh. "Hey tapioca tush! Catch!" Numbuh 2 clutched his nose as he cried out in agony at being hit. "Ah! My liver spots!" Numbuh 2 crashes into a wall and falls unconscious, joining the rest of his team on the floor.

Numbuh 1 turned to Sector Z and looked at them all appreciatively. "Thanks, David. I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

"Well, you might want to figure that out because we're transforming back!" The members of Sector Z are sucked back together, the process of turning into the Delightful Children had begun.

"No!" Lauren cried just as Numbuh 1 screamed "What?!"

Sector Z shed their battle armor as their preppy uniforms reappeared, becoming Delightfulized yet again. Before the transformation was complete, they all shouted in unison "Tell the Kids Next Door we miss them!"

"NO!" Both Lauren and Numbuh 1 cried in unison, but it was too late.

The five members of Sector Z collapsed to the ground. Suddenly, they are revived and jump up off the ground. "Yes!" The Delightful Children cried delightedly. The Delightful Children move to jump on top of Numbuh 1, but are blocked by Lauren.

"Move out of the way, Lauren. We don't want to hurt you." They command of her.

Lauren shook her head. "You guys don't understand. For once Numbuh 1 is working in your best interest. He is working to stop the man that wants to turn everyone in the world in elderly zombies that will obey his every command and work in factories that produce tapioca, which is literally the worst pudding flavor out there. For once, we need to team up with the KND and work together, not only for the good of kid kind, but for the good of teen and adult kind as well. If not, we will all be old, saggy zombies until we die."

The Delightful Children exchanged a glance, biting on their lips as they thought about what Lauren had proposed. On the one hand, they could easily overpower Numbuh 1 and beat him to a pulp for fun. On the other hand, they could team up with their mortal enemy and save the world for the adults and the teenagers. That would certainly earn them some form of gratitude from adults all over the world, and Father would be so proud. Slowly, they extended their hands towards Numbuh 1.

Lauren beamed at them as she moved to the side so that they could all shake hands. Once the diplomacy was over, the Delightful Children looked towards Lauren, their face's anxious with anticipation. In return, Lauren gave them an easy smile before looking at Numbuh 1. "What is it we need to do, Numbuh 1?"

Numbuh 1 denoted to a set of wired up bikes. "We need to pedal those to power the Moonbase enough to power an attack directly on Grandfather. If my plan works, it'll be the only way he'll be defeated. However, we can't work all of these bikes alone. There's too many." He was right. There were eleven bikes and only seven kids.

Lauren's eyes drift towards where the remaining members of Sector V lay on the ground. "Actually, Numbuh 1, I think there's a perfect amount of people.

All of Sector V are wearing remodified birthday suits that prevent senior citizombiefication and are helping Numbuh 1, Lauren, and the Delightful Children pilot the Moonbase to Earth. "Nice work on the birthday suits, Numbuh 2, even if they haven't completely changed you back yet." Numbuh 1 says appreciatively.

"Just doing my part for the team." Numbuh 2 says dismissively with a wave of his hand.

"This next part will take perfect aim and timing, old friend. Sure you can do it?" Numbuh 1 asked confidently.

"Nope." Numbuh 2 quipped sarcastically.

"Target is coming into range." Numbuh 3 warned them.

Doing some quick calculations, Numbuh 2 reported "We need more power if we're going to fire this thing!"

"Floor it on." Numbuh 1 instructed. They proceed to pedal even harder than before.

"Hey, Numbuh 5, so what kinda missile are we firin' at the Earth?" Numbuh 4 asked curiously.

"There aren't any missiles left, Numbuh 4." Numbuh 5 informed him.

"Steady... steady." Numbuh 2 murmured from the controls.

Numbuh 4's eyes grew to the size of saucers as realization sunk in. "No missiles? Then what the crud are we firin'?"

Numbuh 1 had a manic glint in his eyes as he replied "Us!"

At that, the Delightful Children looked up in alarm. "What? What do you mean us-"

They were cut off as Numbuh 2 shouted "Fire now!" The Moonbase launches towards Earth as everyone screams, a few in glee, most in terror.

"If we don't die from crash landing, Kids Next Dorks, we'll kill you!" The Delightful Children shouted, bracing themselves for a hard landing. Lauren and the members of Sector V acted similarly, minus the half hearted death threats.

"Hang on to your underwear!" Numbuh 2 advised as they crashed into the Earth, smashing into Grandfather.

Their parachutes deploy as the last of the debris hit the ground. "Great job, team." Numbuh 2 complemented as they all clambered off of the bikes. The Delightful Children spun around, dizzy and loaded down with motion sickness, but Lauren steadied them before they could fall. They looked at her gratefully as Grandfather laughed evilly.

Pulling himself from the discarded wreckage, he continued to chortle. "Monty, Monty, Monty. Did you honestly believe that a mere thirty nine bazillion tons of red hot metal and duct tape would crush me?"

Monty chuckled before replying "I wasn't trying to crush you, Pappy. I just wanted to see what would happen when you put an adult in a decommissioning chamber. Now, Nigel!"

Numbuh 1 flips a switch as his dad and grandfather have their memories erased. As a result, the two are turned back to harmless old men and the world reverts to its former self, everyone who was senior citizombied is turned back to normal.

Grandfather, now old and nonthreatening, scratches his bald head and asks "Is this the cafeteria? It's mushy bean night, you know."

Monty raises an eyebrow before smiling in greeting. "Oh, hello, Pappy! I didn't know you were coming for a visit. I wish I would have had a chance to tidy up."

The kids watched this display before walking off their separate ways. Sector V went further into the Moonbase, while the Delightful Children and Lauren walked over to Father's mansion, which was in shambles as a result of the crash. Whatever may come in the future didn't matter at the moment because they had won and no one was going to take that joy from them away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Operation C.U.R.E.**

 **Carefully**

 **Urging**

 **Recovery-of**

 **Everyone**

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC.

Rubbing the exhaustion from her eyes, Lauren stared sleepily at the device she was tampering with. She hadn't slept at all in the past forty eight hours, too excited at the prospect of helping her friends. Her machine to turn the Delightful Children back into the adult hating members of Sector Z was almost complete. Putting the last piece into place, realization dawned on her that she was finished. A tear of joy streamed from the corner of her eye as she stared at the contraption. It was of similar design to Father's Delightfulization machine, but was wired to have the opposite effect. Now all she had to do was convince the Delightful Children to step inside. She could either ask them or trick them. At this point it didn't matter if their trust was betrayed because as soon as the effects took place they would be the members of Sector Z, the Delightful Children from Down the Lane a distant memory.

As a final test of the machine's accuracy, Lauren took several items, a report card with all A's, a preppy sweater, and a sophisticated book of manners for the uptight, and threw them inside. Once the door was shut, she started the contraption up. A bright flash of white light filled the room before the door slid open. Lauren anxiously peeped inside. What she saw made her smile hugely. The A's on the report card had turned into a collection of B's and C's, the sweater was replaced by a T-shirt with a goofy cartoon reference, and the book of manners was now a picture book. The machine had turned everything adult-y into something a kid would own.

She couldn't contain her excitement. Finally, she could have her old teammates back and if they were ever Delightfulized again, she now had the option to simply turn them back. Not able to wait any longer, Lauren grabbed her phone and prepared to call the number that would connect her with the Delightful Mansion From Down the Lane. Suddenly she thought better of dialing. Her finger hovering above the keypad, Lauren bit her

lower lip. If she were to call the Delightful Children and manage to somehow convince them to all get in a metal contraption and shut them inside, if the machine failed they would never trust her again, despise her worse than the Kids Next Door.

Her eyes widening, Lauren quickly dialed a number on the phone, but it wasn't the Delightful Children. When the person on the other side picked up, she sighed with relief. "Hello, Rachel, er Numbuh 362. I need to ask you a favor."

"Let Numbuh 5 get this straight," Abigail Lincoln began, still incredibly shocked by the information she had just received. "You are the leader of the missing Sector Z, Numbuh 0.6?"

"Yes." Lauren replied, not impatiently.

"And the Delightful Children are the remaining members of Sector Z?" Abby asked, the shock not wearing off.

"Correct yet again." Lauren replied.

Wally suddenly interjected "And just now you finally want to do somethin' to get your teammates back? Why the wait? And besides, it's the cruddy Delightful Children we're talkin' about. No Kids Next Door operative would ever become as adult lovin' as them, no matter what they're subjected to. So the real question is; why should we believe a cruddy word you say?"

Lauren's eyes flashed with anger as her gaze flitted from Abby to Wally. Her hands clenching into fists, she felt heat rising from within, flames at the ready as soon as she called them. 'No. Now is not the time.' She thought to herself, taking a deep breath and unclenching her fists. Rubbing her forehead, she sighed before explaining "I know it's... difficult for you to understand. After all, the Delightfuls are your greatest enemy. But for me, they are still my teammates, the members of Sector Z. Their actions in their current state are no fault of their own."

At that point, Wally opened his mouth to say something but was shut down with a stern look by Nigel. Shaking her head, Lauren continued "Father used a machine, a Delightfulization chamber if you will, in the hopes of simply curbing the urge to break rules. However, the machine malfunctioned and increased the effects by eleventy-billion fold. That's why they speak in perfect unison and can never be separated."

"But that still doesn't explain why we should trust ya." Wally grumbled, crossing his arms in frustration.

Stalking over to him, Lauren leaned down so she was looking directly into his eyes. "If you still don't believe that Father is capable enough and crazy enough to do whatever it takes his quest of riding kids of their will to be kids, I have a way to convince you, but you probably won't like it."

"Yer bluffin'." Wally said, his eyes hardening.

"Am I?" She challenged, stepping back, becoming engulfed in flames. This was met with immediate uproar as all the members of Sector V drew their blasters and leveled them with Lauren. Holding her hands up in surrender, she said "Relax, you guys, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm simply trying to make a point."

"What point? That you're insane?" Hoagie shouted at her.

"That Father is willing to do whatever it takes to extinguish kids." She doused her flames and the members of Sector V slowly put their arms down. Smiling slightly, she continued. "These flames are a result of the genetic experimentation Father subjected me to. There's a reason I wasn't Delightfulized with the rest of my teammates. During his first attempt to turn us, we escaped. Well, they escaped. I was captured. So Father decided to use plan B on me. If he couldn't use a machine, he would use the next best thing: genetics. He pumped his DNA into me in the hopes of creating an obedient child of his own. Instead, I simply gained his control of fire. When my team came to rescue me, they were Delightfulized. The only reason I got out of there alive was because I erased theirs and Father's memories from then to the first Delightfulization attempt using a device my team had been tampering with before then: a portable decommissioning device. Ever since my escape I've been working on a device to undo the effects of the Delightfulization chamber permanently and tonight I've done just that."

"So what the crud do you need us for?" Wally suddenly inquired.

"I need your help shoving the Delightfuls into my machine so I can turn them back." Lauren explained.

"And if all goes south, we can kick their butts into next week." Wally added mockingly, cracking his knuckles in excitement all the same.

Lauren frowned and said "It won't go south. It can't go south. I won't let it. This plan will only go north from now until the time it's finished. But I still would like your help nonetheless. And Numbuh 362 has already given permission for you lot to help me so what do you say? Please help me get my teammates back. Because isn't that what the Kids Next Door does? Protects kids? Well, Sector Z needs your help more than anyone else I know."

Sector V thought over her plea before exchanging looks with one another. Nigel adjusted his glasses before saying "I'm in. I'm not a fan of the Delightful Dorks but I am of any and all Kids Next Door operatives." Once

Nigel had spoken up, the others quickly fell into agreement.

Beaming gratefully, Lauren replied "Thank you. I promise this plan won't fail. Now if you'll excuse me, I have one more phone call to make tonight."

"The Delightful Children From Down the Lane speaking. With whom are we speaking?" Five voices asked at once.

Smile widening, Lauren jovially replied "Hello you five. I know it's late, but I was wondering if you lot would like to come over and partake in a slumber party?"

The Delightful Children were very strict about not engaging in any childlike activities but given that they basically had glorified sleepovers every night, given that the five shared a bed, Lauren was certain they would agree

to come to her house. "Why of course we'll come. We'll be outside your house in fifteen minutes."

"This will be so much fun, you'll see!" Lauren squealed with delight. They mistook her excitement for her soon having her teammates back for excitement towards the sleepover. Hanging up, she turned to the members of Sector V. "They took the bait and our on their way. Everyone get in position." Lauren ordered.

It wasn't long before her doorbell rang. Practically flinging herself out of her room, Lauren flew towards the door. Calming her breathing, she flung the door open.

Outside the Delightful Children were standing in their pajamas, pillows stuffed under their arms, and one giant sleeping bag strapped to their backs. "Hello, Lauren. Thank you for inviting us over to your lovely home. May we come in?" They asked her, harmonized and completely oblivious to what was about to happen.

"Of course, guys, please come in." She said, quickly stepping aside and inviting them inside with a wave of her arm. The Delightful Children made their way inside before Lauren led the way to her room. Inside was a spacious living space that contained a bed, a desk, a vanity, a decent sized closet, an expansive bookshelf, and the antiDelightfulization machine.

Upon seeing no remnant of childhood, the Delightful Children nodded in approval. "Your room is very nice." They complimented her genuinely.

Smiling, she told them "Make yourselves comfortable. There's plenty of room."

At that, the members of Sector V took their cue, coming out of their hiding spots and surround the Delightful Children who were quite literally sitting ducks. Their eyes flitted towards Lauren in confusion before focusing their glares onto the Sector Z members. "What is the meaning of this?" They demanded, starting to stand.

"Let's just say we're doing you Delightful Dorks a major favor." Wally replied, cocking his blaster.

"Yeah. We're helping you catch up on some z's. Ha! 'Z's'! Get it guys? Guys?" Hoagie put in with a snort. The rest of his team rolled their eyes.

The Delightful Children turned their gaze towards Lauren and asked "What is going on here? Why are there Kids Next Door operatives in your room?"

It pained her to see them looking at her that way. "I'm sorry guys." She whispered, looking away as Nigel shouted "Kids Next Door battle stations!" Sector V quickly attacked, encircling the Delightful Children.

The Delightfuls were backed up into a corner, defenseless and in nothing more than pajamas. They could not not comply. They were slowly backed up into Lauren's machine. As soon as they entered the contraption, Lauren slammed the door on their backs. "Hey! What are you doing? What is the matter with you?" They shouted, furiously pounding against the door.

Sadly shaking her head, Lauren explained "You guys might not understand what I'm doing now, but in a matter of seconds everything will be back to normal. You'll laugh when I say this, but the six of us make up Sector Z of the Kids Next Door and I, your leader, have been working to unDelightfulize you ever since that fateful night where Father split us apart. Now, after years of trial and error, I have perfected the perfect machine to cure you. I'm getting my old teammates back, even if it means never seeing you five again. I'm sorry, but this isn't them. They deserve a chance to be kids, you deserve the chance to be kids. Father corrupted you and I was powerless to stop him. But now... now I can help. Now I can make it all right. I promise I won't fail you this time, nor will I let anything like this ever happen to you again, I swear. I'm sorry, but I'm doing this because I love you guys. You're my family and I want my family back."

This tear jerking speech was met with scowls, an increase in the intensity of the pounding, and the five of them all but screeching in harmony "You let us out right now, Lauren Styx! When we get out of here, you'll be so in for it! We can't believe we ever thought you were our friend, our mature, adult-worthy friend! You're nothing more than a KNDoofus and we hate you!" The last part was followed by even more ferocious banging.

Lauren's sad smile turned into a frown as she whispered "I'm sorry." before slamming on the button that activated the machine. The Delightful Children let out one last shrill cry before they were encompassed in bright, white light.

Throwing open the door, Lauren felt herself struggling to choke back a sob. Emerging from the unDelightfulization chamber was the members of Sector Z, as they were before Father got a hold of them. Flinging her arms around them, the six of them were encompassed into a massive group hug. "I missed you guys so much!" she cried.

"It's so good to be back. To be me again!" David cried, looking down at his hands.

"You can say that again! Thank you, Lauren!" Ashley sobbed gratefully.

"I promised I'd find a cure no matter what. And I finally did." Lauren replied, unable to put into words how happy she was to have her teammates back.

"But how long will it last? Last time, we had a few hours at best before we were reverted back to our delightful selves. How long have you bought us this time?" Lenny asked her.

Lauren smirked before saying "Father's machine created a blast eleventy-billion fold. Mine was twenty two. If doubling won't ensure permanency, nothing else will."

"We're back forever, then?" Constance exclaimed jovially.

"And we'll never turn into those Delightful Dorks ever again?" Bruce added with apparent glee.

Lauren ruffled his hair affectionately before replying "Not if I can help it. And if you do, I'll just pop you back into the machine and revert you back to normal. If I have to do it every day I will. But I promised I'd turn you guys back. And I never go back on my word."

Nigel coughed lightly, interrupting the happy reunion. "I suppose the only thing left to do is go to the Moonbase and inform Numbuh 362 what has happened tonight."

The newly unified Sector Z exchanged glances with each other before saying "Sweet. Let's go." in complete unison. Sector V nervously glanced at each other as the faces of Sector Z fell in abject horror. "We've got to stop doing that!" Bruce shouted, enraged, as the members of his team jumped apart.

Lauren looked at them, a pained expression flitted across her face, her arm extending towards them. She thought better about it, and recoiled her arm back to her side before crossing them over her chest. She had hoped the effects of her device would have lasted more than a mere five minutes and that the five of them talking in unison was mere coincidence rather than them

Delightfulizing again.

"So... did someone say something about going to the Moonbase?" Kuki asked, breaking the silence.

As they walked to the main level of the KND Moonbase, Rachel came out to greet them. "What happened to Numbuh 663? Isn't Danny still the leader?" Ashley asked, looking at the new comer.

"A lot has happened since you five were Delightfulized, Numbuh 0.3. Danny grew up, reached age thirteen, was decommissioned, and I took his place as the new leader." Ashley nodded in comprehension as Rachel led them to an auditorium of sorts.

Kids Next Door operatives had already flooded inside and hundreds of them were babbling in confusion, wondering why they had been summoned. Standing at the podium, Rachel tapped on the microphone before saying "My fellow Kids Next Door operatives!" This quieted the murmuring. Clearing her throat, Rachel continued. "I have gathered you all here today to put to rest the rumors surrounding the legendary Sector Z. The members have been found and fully recommissioned. Please give a warm welcome to Numbuhs 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6!" This was met with cheering.

Sector Z exchanged glances with each other before smiling hugely and wrapping their arms around each other. They were finally unDelightfulized, finally reunited, finally home.

"Oh, man, it is good to be back in our treehouse!" Bruce exclaimed, running his hands along the walls just to make sure they were real.

"Beats the Delightful Mansion From Down the Lame anyday, dude." Lenny added.

Their meeting on the Moonbase over, Lauren led them back to their treehouse in order to catch them up on modern times, as well as catch up with her teammates. The two boys fell back onto a couch in the debriefing room with satisfied groans, kicking their feet up onto a coffee table. Ashley and Constance acted similarly, crashing onto a second couch, but neglected to follow through with the sloppier stance their fellow operatives had chosen.

David was about to join them when he spared a glance back towards Lauren. She was smiling happily but it didn't quite reach her eyes and her arms were protectively wrapped around her frame. David frowned slightly before walking over to her. Once he had closed the distance between them, he held his hand out towards her. "Numbuh 0.6... Lauren, what's wrong?" By this point, the rest of Sector Z was staring at her as well, worry across all of their faces.

Realizing the spotlight had fallen onto her, Lauren heaved a sigh of defeat before explaining her behavior. "I'm scared, okay?"

David came closer to her and took her hand, gently intertwining their fingers as he asked "Of what?"

"Of the chamber not working, of losing you five again to Delightfulization, of something going wrong, resulting in the machine exploding whilst you were inside. The list goes on and on. I'd never be able to live with myself with the knowledge that the whole thing was entirely my fault." Lauren replied, unconsciously squeezing David's hand.

"Your fault?" Lenny echoed, blinking in confusion.

"Hold on a minute, Lauren, you don't seriously blame yourself for us being Delightfulized, do you?" Ashley inquired.

Bruce's eyes widened as he added "You are, aren't you? Lauren, it was not your fault!"

"Of course it was!" She replied haughtily.

"How?" Constance demanded, pulling her sunglasses down so she could stare Lauren directly in the eyes, challenging her to come up with a logical enough explanation.

Snatching her hand away from David's to better use her arms for gesturing, Lauren explained hotly "Because you were caught rescuing me! If you hadn't come back for me, if I hadn't let him catch me, if I'd managed to escape on my own, then none of this would have happened!" Lauren fell to her knees, then, unable to control her tears.

David, who was the closest, joined her on the floor and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest where her tears stained his shirt. "Lauren," he began, gently tugging her face up with his finger so that her eyes met his. "He would have found some other way to Delightfulize us, even if we hadn't gone back for you when we did. You being captured by Father was not your fault. We should have stayed and backed you up rather than heading towards the ship without you. Us going back for you wasn't your fault, either. You couldn't have known, and even if you had told us not to we would have done it anyway. And besides, you brought us back, gave us our lives back. So even if it was your fault, which it was not, you've more than made up for it."

"If anything, we owe you big time." Bruce put in, pulling Lauren and David out of their personal bubble. The rest of the team crowded the two of them, then, engaging in one massive group hug.

"I'm glad you guys are back. I've missed having you five around." Lauren whispered after a moment, almost afraid to interrupt the stillness of it all.

"Sector Z is back for good. We're never going anywhere, not ever again." David replied with a huge smile as he and Lauren were surrounded by the arms of the other Sector Z members, wordlessly ensuing a group hug.


End file.
